The Keeper
by Princess Aranel
Summary: They met in their 3rd year and neither knew what would come of their encounter but as the years pass and friendship becomes more, a mistake is made that will change both their lives. Please RR Didnt like it? MST it! At least I'll know what I did wrong...


Disclaimer: Don't own, not mine, etc, etc.

Authors Note: This…err…thing came about one day when I was dusting my faerie collection. As I cleaned Magdalene (yes, I name them) I suddenly thought that she and Oliver Wood would look rather pretty together and as I dusted, I was thinking of a story. Afterwards, I kept seeing it in my head, playing out the scenes, even mentally writing it. So, basically, I wrote this for my sanity, and now I am imposing it on you guys. :-p Flame if you must, just know they will be graded, and later laughed at. 

Chapter One

Encounter (Year Three)

The sticky, unbearable June humidity hung over Hogwarts like a heavy, impenetrable blanket. On occasion, a slight breeze would pass through the large grounds but it did little to alleviate the situation. The students, who on other occasions had been known to loiter about the fair green grounds, were all clustered inside, avoiding the early summer heat. From a distance, a tall, gangly boy of 13 could be seen striding purposefully across the lawn towards the lake. Perfectly poised in one hand, he held a red and gold beach towel and in his other hand, a book. His thick brown hair swayed a bit in the momentary breeze. As his long steps took him closer to the lake, he noticed something rather out of the ordinary. There was a person sitting his tree. HIS tree! But who would do such a monstrous thing? Clearly this person saw the name carved into the tree right? He even added an enchantment that made it change colors like a banner at a Quidditch match. _Oliver Wood_ it read in red and gold. Didn't this intruder see it?

Upon closer examination of the trespasser, one could see that this girl was certainly not from around "these here parts." She was tan, and her hair carried a certain level of volume few have managed without frizz. Her light brown locks cascaded down her back in loose waves. Even sitting down, Oliver noticed that this girl was oddly shaped. Her waist curved in sharply but then expanded again just in time for her bottom to round off rather largely. A third wind picked up around the lake, sending towards them a cool wind slightly scented with a hint of salt. It seemed that the wind enjoyed playing with the girl's hair because it lingered momentarily on one of her waves, lifting it towards him, beckoning him forward before it finally fell.

He knew not where his lips found the audacity but before he could stop it, his mouth opened and said in a very angry, hostile tone, "Excuse me miss, but this is my tree. Can't you read?"

The girls head swung around abruptly. Her sharp, fierce brown eyes came to focus on the boy standing presumptuously before her. Her large, pouty lips formed a slight sneer.

"Forgive me, but I was unaware that students could come to own trees. My mistake Mr. Wood," she said with a delicate accent that certainly wasn't British. She began to rise but before her action was complete, Oliver stopped her.

"Wait!"

She looked up at him, questioning. He continued.

"Sorry," he looked sheepishly at his feet. "It was very rude of me to ask you to move. You were here first."

The girl smiled triumphantly at him. It would seem that she had won the battle. After all, she only wanted to stay beneath the giant beech tree and read. She noticed the boy looking shyly at her. A bit of impatience rose within her.

"Yes?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

The girl raised a quizzical eyebrow and said nothing. She motioned to the ground beside her. Oliver smiled a bit at her and laid out his towel. He sat down with a thump, opened his book, and began to read.

After a minute or two of silence between them, the girl looked over at Oliver and eyed him cautiously. Her eyes rested on his red nylon shorts. They had an elastic waistband and she remembered they came to a stop unceremoniously on his mid-thighs, making his legs look much longer. The slight tightness of the shorts made her cringe a bit.

"You're wearing rather unattractive shorts," said the girl with a slight airiness to it, like one of the passing breezes.

Oliver turned to her and in turn examined her. She was wearing a bathing suit. The strings on her bright yellow top worked their way past the neap of her neck and crossed down across the top of her back, hooking themselves onto the thick strap across her back. Little flowers orange flowers littered not only the strap across her back but the strings as well and small patch in the middle of the front. She was wearing a mini skirt that seemed to only be a few shades lighter then the flowers. Her absurdly thick legs her crossed in front of her rather gracefully.

"At least I'm wearing clothes," he paused for a moment, "where is your accent from?"

"It comes from having learned English as a second language."

"What's your first language?"

"Spanish."

"You're from Spain?" Oliver had an excited gleam in his eye. If he played his cards right and became good friends with this girl he might just be able to visit! Spain always seemed like such a beautiful place to visit.

"No. I'm from Cuba. It's a tiny communist island in the Caribbean."

"Oh," he looked down at his book, clearly disappointed. Who would want to visit a communist island? He could feel her eyes burning a hole through his skull. "How long have you lived here in England?" he asked, trying to change the subject.

"Three years."

"Did you come here directly from Cuba?"

The girl bit her lip, a sign that she was a bit nervous for reasons unknown even to herself. "No. When I was five, we moved to Florida, my parents and I, but my father's cousin Mercedes planted in his head the idea to move here. Things were going very good for her family and so when I ten we moved to Surrey. I don't come from a magical background so when I got my letter from Hogwarts I was very excited. I always loved the idea of witches and magic. My parents were skeptical but this lovely man named Hagrid explained everything to them and so, with much difficulty they let me go." She looked down at the grass before her, not wanting to keep his gaze. She couldn't believe she just blurted out her life like that! She didn't know this boy and yet, he seemed to her, trustworthy. There was a long silence between them for no reason at all. They had both grown a little tired of each others voices and opted to listen to the wind and waves instead.

And yet, like before, the girl felt the need to break the prolonged silence, having found herself growing bored with it. "Congrats on winning the match. That save you made was really awesome," she said with a half smile on her face.

"Thank you," he said absentmindedly. "Are you a Ravenclaw?"

The girl looked down, her eyes revealed a certain level of hurt Oliver could not ignore.

"I'm sorry! A Hufflepuff?"

Without a word, the girl stood up, grabbed her mismatched green tank top, put it on, and began walking away. Oliver looked at her shirt and wondered… "You're not a Slytherin are you?"

She whirled around and shrieked, "I'm a Gryffindor you moron! Sera posible que una persona sea tan comemierda?!" (Is it possible that someone can be such an idiot?)

Oliver looked up at her, astonished. How was it that he never noticed her before? He lowered his head and mumbled a clumsy apology. "What's your name?"

The girl crossed her arms over her chest, exasperated at the silly little boy in front of her. She thought about just leaving, letting him find out her name for himself but with a roll of her eyes and an angry scoff, she said very simply, "Jenny," and walked away. Oliver sat there under the shade of the tree he so desperately wanted when he come out in the condition he wanted, unoccupied but he found himself slightly missing the company. He shrugged his shoulders, opened his book and continued reading.

A/N: So…does Jenny sound Mary-Sueish?


End file.
